Magazine CSPs: blog feedback and learner response

You will be receiving blog feedback for your magazine CSP case studies from your teacher via email this week.

This is a very important opportunity to reflect on the first exam CSPs you have studied in GCSE Media Studies. We know these products will come up in the exam so this reflection gives us the chance to identify the areas we need to improve over the next few weeks.

To complete your learner response you must open up your email and complete the following:

1) Read your feedback carefully then copy and paste the email into a NEW blogpost in your blog called 'Magazine CSPs: Blog feedback and Learner Response'.

2) Below the feedback, complete any learner response tasks or questions written by your teacher. 

3) Finally, write three facts or statistics about both Tatler and Reveal that you've learned from these case studies.

4) Reply to the original email from your teacher confirming you have completed the learner response and provide a link to your learner response blogpost.

Remember, this is how we get better in Media Studies - so make the most of this opportunity! 

Advertising case study 1: OMO print advert

The first close-study product for Advertising and Marketing is the 1955 advert for OMO washing powder that appeared in Woman's Own magazine.

This product provides an excellent opportunity to analyse the changing representation of women in advertising over the last 60 years. 




Sample questions for Advertising and Marketing

In your Media exams, you are likely to get questions similar to these:

- Why do advertisers use stereotypes? [6 marks]

- Explain how advertisements reflect the historical context in which they were created. [12 marks]

OMO advert: blog task

Work through the tasks in this blogpost to make sure you're an expert on this CSP.

1) What year was the advert produced?

2) How were women represented in most adverts in the 1950s?

3) How does the heading  message ('OMO makes whites bright') and typography promote the product?

4) Analyse the mise-en-scene in the advert (CLAMPS): how is costume, make-up and placement of the model used to suggest women's role in society?

5) Why is a picture of the product added to the bottom right of the advert?

6) What are the connotations of the chosen colours in this advert?

7) How does the anchorage text use persuasive language to encourage the audience to buy the product? Give examples.

8) What representation of women can be found in this OMO advert? Make specific reference to the advert and discuss stereotypes.

9) What is the preferred reading for this advert - what did the producers of the advert want the audience to think in 1955?

10) What is the oppositional reading for this advert - how might a modern audience respond to this text and the representation of women here?

Grade 8/9 extension questions

1) How much do you think things have changed over the last 60 years with regards to representations of women in advertising? Give examples from a variety of adverts

2) Read this Guardian feature on possible law changes with regards to gender representations in advertising. Do you agree with this approach?

3) Now read this Guardian feature entitled 'Mad Men and invisible women'. Why does it suggest the advertising industry has 'failed to move on'? Do you agree? Read some of the comments below the article to get a range of differing views on this topic.

You will have lesson time to answer these questions but will need to complete for homework - due on Tuesday 26 March.

Gender stereotypes in advertising

There is a long history of adverts featuring a sexist or negative representation of women.

We need to learn how adverts represent different people and groups and also how these representations have changed over time. Today, the focus is on the representation of women and the gender stereotypes that appear in many adverts.

Key words

Representation: the way a group or individual is portrayed in the media.

Normalised: when something becomes considered ‘normal’ or ‘usual’

Stereotype: viewing a group or individual in a fixed, over-simplified way.

Conventions: typical features of a media product. 

Reinforce a stereotype: the representation supports our usual expectations.

Subvert a stereotype: the representation goes against our usual expectations.

How are women represented in advertising?

The stereotype of women in advertising is often negative. Representations through the history of advertising have suggested that women are inferior to men, bad drivers, powerless, sexualised or focused on domestic work (e.g. cleaning). This potentially influences media audiences and the views in wider society.

 

 















Oxo TV adverts

Explore how the representations of women have changed through these two adverts for Oxo. Are they really as different as they first appear?

1980s Oxo advert




2017 Oxo advert





Gender representation in advertising: blog task

Create a new blogpost called 'Gender representation in advertising'.

1) Find three adverts featuring women that are from the 1950s or 1960s. Save the images to your Media folder as jpegs and then import them into your blog post. Hint: You may wish to look at car, perfume or cleaning products but can use any product you wish.

2) Find three adverts featuring women that are from post-2000. Save the images to your Media folder as jpegs and then import them into your blog post.

3) What stereotypes of women can you find in the 1950s and 1960s adverts? Give specific examples. 

4) What stereotypes of women can you find in the post-2000s adverts? Give specific examples.

5) How do your findings suggest representations of gender have changed over the last 50 years? 


Extension: Find three adverts that subvert  gender stereotypes and write a paragraph about how they do this.

You will be given some lesson time to do this but will need to finish for homework - due Thursday 14 March.

Advertising and Marketing: Introduction and conventions

Our new topic is Advertising and Marketing - a vital aspect of Media Studies.

One of the key aspects to deconstructing advertisements is denotation and connotation. Remember the definitions:

Denotation: the literal meaning of something
Connotation: the suggestion behind this literal meaning (reading between the lines)

Codes and conventions of print adverts

• Picture of product
• USP - unique selling point. What is it that makes the product special or different to appeal to consumers?
• Lighting
• Setting / colour scheme
• Logo – this is usually the brand name 
• Slogan – this is a catchy phrase summing up the ethos of the product e.g Nike’s ‘Just Do It’

Adverts will often use unique and interesting ways to attract the attention of the target audience. This might be: innovative branding; clever use of space; unconventional or subversive ideas; emotional connections or shock / controversy.

Introduction to advertising: blog task

Create a new blogpost called 'Advertising key conventions'. Find a print advert of your choice using Google Images and save it to your folder on the Media Shared drive. Add it to your blogpost using the 'Insert image' button and then answer the questions below:

1) What key conventions of an advert can you find and what are the connotations of each one?

2) For each convention, write about how this appeals to a target audience. 

3) What is the USP (unique selling point) of the product and how do you know?

Look at the Maltesers example below if you are unsure how to complete any of these tasks:

Example - Maltesers

Conventions

• Pictures of the product (Maltesers) to remind us of the type of product it is. The image also reinforces the word ‘lighter’ as the chocolate dance and jump off the floor. 
• The Logo is bright and large in the centre of the advert. The word ‘malt’ relates to the flavours used and ‘tesers’ is a play on the word ‘tease’ which ties in with the playful, light ethos. 
• The Background features the heavy use of red. It is bright and eye-catching with connotations of love. This makes the consumer recognise the brand colour and makes them think they love the product, or may gift it to someone they love. 
• The Slogan at the bottom is clearly visible and stands out against the background. ‘Lighter’ and ‘enjoy’ reinforce the USP – that Maltesers are slightly healthier chocolate. 
• The Colour Scheme is red and white - recognisable from the packets of Maltesers, creating a brand identity. 

Extension task

If you have completed an in-depth analysis of an advert of your choice, do some additional research into creative or powerful print advertising. 

Task: Find a an example of a print advert for EACH of the following:

1) A clear brand identity

2) A shocking or controversial idea

3) An emotional connection to audience

4) An innovative or ‘different’, subversive concept (e.g the porcupine advertising VW car)

5) A foreign advert that you can understand despite the language barrier

Finally, write what the USP is for each advert.

Complete the initial questions for homework if you don't finish them in the lesson. Due: next Thursday.

Print Magazines: Reveal CSP case study

Reveal is our second magazine Close Study Product. We need to study the media language and representation of people and groups on the front cover of Reveal April 2017.

The key notes from the lesson are here:

General

• According to publisher Hearst: "Reveal is the reader’s best friend: fun, gossipy and full of advice on everything from fashion and beauty to diets and cocktails. We know who's dating whom, who has fallen out with their best friend, whose relationship is in tatters and who's finding motherhood hard. Our high-street fashion is affordable…"
• Reveal’s tag-line is ‘Talking with you, not at you!” which implies that the magazine wants to be seen as a friend to its readers,  sharing secrets about the lives of famous celebrities.  It is released weekly and costs 99p.
• The Editor claims: ‘It delivers glamour, gossip and giggles’ which reinforces the magazine’s identity as a ‘girl’s best friend’. 
• Star Appeal: The magazine consistently uses images of celebrities - paparazzi shots as well as posed shots for authenticity. 
• It focuses on celebrity relationships and fashion and beauty tips for ‘every day’ women (for example testing high street brands which are more affordable for readers.)
• The magazine itself is affordable at only 99p so it wants to maintain an audience who can afford to buy it regularly and whenever they see something eye-catching on the cover. 
• The demographic buying Reveal are mostly adult women, aged 18-34. Unlike Tatler, which is London and South of England-centric, Reveal is bought by women all over the country.  Its readership also spans a much wider set of social classes, from ABC1-C2DE. Psychographic groups for Reveal would largely be strugglers or mainstreamers.

Media language

• Typography / Fonts:  Sans serif fonts are used to make the magazine feel modern, informal and offering the latest gossip. Handwritten fonts are also used to make the magazine more personal – the reader’s ‘friend’.
• Cover lines: Indirect address favoured by celebrity gossip magazines so it seems like you have just seen them yourself – emphasises the gossip feel. Informal language ‘stuff the diet’ and ‘yay’ make this magazine youthful and accessible.
• Colour scheme: Red, yellow and pink. Bright colours to attract attention – important with no main central image. Gossip magazines tend to be busier and more packed with images to suggest issues that are bursting with different stories.

Representations

• The people represented on the cover are mostly celebrities and well known actors, reality television stars and music artists. Why?
• Celebrities are presented as important and desirable – but the photography is designed to make them look like ‘normal’ people.

Social and cultural contexts

• The cover lines in Reveal focus on a few key areas:
• Domesticity and families: ‘baby bump’, ‘mum’ 
• Relationships: normative and subversive as words are used such as‘stalker’, ‘secret meetings’ and ‘sex’. Focus is on relationship breakdowns. 
• Beauty: Diets and skin care are mentioned but these take into account ‘normal’ people since the focus is on previously thin celebrities giving up diets and enjoying treating themselves and, instead of promoting expensive products, the skin care is ‘one simple trick’.
• Socially, this magazine wants to be like a ‘friend’ in terms of gossip and advice. It also is keen to relate to its working class, mainstream audience and not alienate them by featuring unaffordable, luxury items.

Reveal: case study blog task

Work through the following tasks and questions to build a detailed case study for Reveal - 18 March 2017 (below). This will give you plenty of background information to use in an exam question on print magazines.

General

Look through the slides from the lesson on Reveal and use this information and your own research and analytical skills to answer the questions below. 




1) Based on your research, what type of people read Reveal? Consider demographics and psychographics.

2) Look at the lesson slides: how does the editor introduce Reveal magazine?

3) What is the difference between the Reveal and Tatler target audiences?

4) What issues are Reveal readers interested in?



Media language

1) How many of the 12 magazine cover key conventions feature on this edition of Reveal?

2) What is the font choice used on the cover and what does this choice connote? 

3) How do the cover lines appeal to the Reveal target audience?

4) What are the connotations of the Reveal colour scheme on this particular front cover?

5) How are images used to create interest in the magazine? Find three reasons for your answer. (E.g. mise-en-scene such as props, costume and make-up, body position, facial expression).

6) What differences can you find between the use of design and typography between Tatler and Reveal? List at least three and explain the effect on audiences.

Representations

1) What different groups of people are represented on the cover? (Look at the image and text/cover lines)

2) What type of celebrities are represented on the front cover?

3) Are there any stereotypes being reinforced or subverted? How? Why?


4) What view of celebrities does Reveal want the reader to have?

5) What would be the preferred and oppositional readings to this cover of Reveal?

Social and cultural context

1) What aspects of British life are reflected in Reveal? How does this compare to Tatler?

2) What do the cover lines in Reveal suggest about the issues and lifestyle of Reveal readers?

3) Find three other front covers for Reveal. What issues or features regularly appear in Reveal? 

4) Do any celebrities appear on more than one front cover of Reveal? Why do you think they are particularly popular with Reveal readers?


Grade 8/9 extension tasks

1) How does the front cover engage audiences with possible narratives? Look for stories, cliffhangers, dramatic cover lines etc.

2) What are paparazzi images and why are they crucial to the front cover of Reveal? 

3) How does the front cover juxtapose text and images to create contrast and narrative on the front cover of Reveal 18 March 2017?

4) What do these two magazines suggest about representations of social class in the British media?

Complete for homework - due Thursday after half-term.

Print Magazines: Tatler CSP case study

Print magazine Tatler is our first Close Study Product. We need to study the media language and representation of people and groups on the front cover of Tatler April 2017.

The key notes from the lesson are here:

General

• Tatler is Britain’s oldest magazine (founded in 1901).
• Targeted at upper classes and upper-middle classes.
• Lifestyle magazine with focus on fashion; high society events such as balls and celebrities such as the Royal family and members of the aristocracy (people with inherited wealth, titles and land.)
• There are versions in Russia, Hong Kong and Indonesia.
• Over the years, Tatler has remained interested in the lives of the Royal family, but has tried to re-invent itself as more ‘edgy’ and modern in recent years, to try and target a younger audience. 

Media language

• This refers to how the producers communicate their message to the audience through the media text. 
• Mise-en-scene: what you see - remember CLAMPS (Costume / Lighting / Actors / Make-up / Props / Setting)
• Typography / Fonts: serif title and sans serif cover lines. 
• Words used and their connotations. 
• Colour schemes: usually two or three in a magazine. Sometimes title matches or is juxtaposed with colours elsewhere on the cover.

Representations

• Tend to reflect dominant audience on cover image: predominantly white, predominantly female, predominantly wealthy (or associated with wealth such as this actress who plays a role in Downton Abbey).
• Average age is 41 but the cover tends to focus on celebrities or models who are younger than this (due to dominant ideals of beauty in the Media).
• Cover lines (stories inside) tend to focus on preoccupations of upper classes e.g ‘How to get your son into Eton’- an exclusive and very expensive private school.

Social and cultural contexts

• The issues that Tatler is concerned with tend to be political but not in a particularly gritty way because the magazine is more interested in fashion, merchandise, beauty and ‘lifestyle’ rather than dealing with news in any depth. 
• The preoccupation with parties, private schools, luxury holidays and exclusivity (the ‘Tatler Privilege Club’) assumes a high level of income and an elitist attitude which may alienate or offend people from a different social class. 81% of the readership has an above average income. 44% buy shoes or clothes more than once a month so the cultural context of the magazine could be judged as ‘niche’ (for the few) rather than ‘mainstream’ (for everyone).
• Some of the stories can be seen as out-dated as they are concerned with riding, hunting and shooting which are pursuits generally only enjoyed by higher classes. 

Tatler: case study blog task

Work through the following tasks and questions to build a detailed case study for Tatler issue April 2017 (below). This will give you plenty of background information to use in an exam question on print magazines.

General

Watch this trailer for BBC's Posh People - a documentary about Tatler, the oldest magazine in Britain.




1) Based on the trailer, what type of people produce and read Tatler? Consider demographics and psychographics.

2) Look at the Tatler Media Pack 2018. Go to page 2: how does the editor introduce the magazine?

3) Now go to page 4 of the Media Pack. Focus on the print magazine (NOT tatler.com - the website). List the key demographic details: age, gender %, ABC1 % (social class), HHI (Household Income), % of those living in London and the South East. What do these demographic details suggest about the average Tatler reader?

4) Look at page 6. What do Tatler readers think about fashion? How much do they spend?

5) Go to page 10. What are the special editions of Tatler that run throughout the year? What does this suggest about the pyschographic groups who read Tatler?


Media language

1) How many of the 12 magazine cover key conventions feature on this edition of Tatler?

2) What is the font choice used in the title and what does this choice connote? 

3) What font is used for the cover lines? What does that choice connote?

4) How do the cover lines appeal to the Tatler target audience?

5) What are the connotations of the Tatler colour scheme on this particular front cover?

6) How is the central image designed to create interest in the magazine? Find three reasons for your answer. (E.g. Mise-en-scene such as props, costume and make-up, body position, facial expression)

Representations

1) What different groups of people are represented on the cover? (Look at the image and text/cover lines)

2) What do the cover lines suggest about the lifestyle of rich people in the UK?

3) Are there any stereotypes being reinforced or subverted? How? Why?


4) Are there any misrepresentations or under-representations of groups? What might this suggest about the target audience?

5) What would be the preferred and oppositional readings to this cover of Tatler?

Social and cultural context

1) What aspects of British life or people are NOT reflected in Tatler? (Watch the clip above again if you need help with this - the clue is in the title 'Posh People')

2) Tatler runs special issues on holidays, spa breaks, cosmetic surgery, watches and jewellery and private schools. What does this suggest about the magazine's representation of life in Britain?

3) What audience groups might be offended or insulted by the front cover of Tatler April 2017? 

4) Find three other front covers for Tatler. What issues or problems are regularly featured in Tatler?


Grade 8/9 extension tasks

1) How does the front cover engage audiences with possible narratives? Look for stories, cliffhangers, dramatic cover lines etc.

2) What does the costume and make-up in the central image suggest about the character featured on the front cover of the April 2017 edition of Tatler?

3) Read this Guardian article on the BBC documentary about Tatler called Posh People. What does the article suggest about the people who produce and read Tatler?

4) How does the front cover juxtapostion text and images to create contrast and narrative on the front cover of Tatler April 2017?


Complete for homework - due Thursday 7 February.

Representation: an introduction

Representation is a vital key concept in Media Studies: how are people, social groups, places and issues represented in the media?

We need to able to analyse media texts and discuss whether representations are fair, accurate, stereotypical or unusual based on our knowledge of the media and the way texts are constructed.

Class notes

What is Representation?

• The way the media portrays the world. 
• The media takes a story/set of facts and (re)presents them in a certain way. 
• In Media Studies we are particularly interested how the media portrays events, issues, individuals and social groups.
• Some groups are misrepresented (represented inaccurately) or under-represented by the Media.

It is the combination of media language choices that construct the representation audiences see. Indeed, everything we see in the media is a re-presentation because the media intervene or stand between the object they are presenting and the audience and therefore they affect or ‘mediate’ every text we see! 

Stereotypes

• Media messages have to be communicated quickly which often means relying on stereotypes. 
• A stereotype is a standardised, oversimplified picture of a person, group, place or event.
• Stereotypes act like codes that give audiences a quick, common understanding of a person or group of people—usually relating to their gender, class, ethnicity or race, sexual orientation, social role or occupation.

How are representations created?

• In print media (news and magazines), a picture editor selects the photo from a whole series of images to be used to illustrate a news story. The image may be cropped, resized and, in some cases, photoshopped so it does not reflect reality.
• A news editor will decide on the way the news story will be presented, and the use of captions to affect the meaning of the image. 

Glossary words

Conventional- typical, the usual, expected representation. 
Subversive- untypical or unexpected representation, differing from the norm.
Stereotype- A ‘set’ idea that people have about what someone or something is like (not necessarily accurate).
Mediation- process by which texts are presented and received.
Representation- how groups or events or individuals are presented / portrayed.

Representation: blog task

Create a new blogpost called 'Representation'.

Look at the film poster for Kidulthood above and answer the following questions on your blog:

1) List the people, places and groups represented in the poster. 

2) Are there any stereotypes you can identify?

3) What is the preferred reading of this poster?

4) What is the oppositional reading of this poster?

Extension: Find your own choice of film poster and answer the four questions above for your chosen media text.